Changu Narayan

Perched at the abrupt end of the ridge north of Bhaktapur, the tranquil temple complex of CHANGU NARAYAN commands a fine view of the valley in three directions. “One remembers all the wealth of carving of the rest of the valley,” wrote Percival Landon in 1928, “but when all is recalled it is probably to the shrine of Changu Narayan that one offers the palm.” Landon wasn’t wrong, and once you’ve run the gauntlet of the souvenir stalls in the little village, you’ll find a site that retains its palpably holy, ancient atmosphere – not to mention the finest collection of statues outside the National Museum.

A single, stone-paved pedestrian street stretches west from the entrance booth, where you pay a fee, along the ridgetop, towards the temple at its apex. It’s lined with souvenir stalls for much of its length, or simple shops selling soft drinks and the like.

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Garud and the serpents

In Nepali art, Vishnu’s angelic servant, Garud, often sports a scarf made of cobras. It stems from a peculiar legend, which tells how his mother was kidnapped by his stepmother, Kadru, the mother of all snakes. Garud appealed to his stepbrothers, the nag serpent-spirits, to free her. They did this on condition that Garud brought them ambrosia from Indra’s heaven. Although Indra later flew down and reclaimed his pot of nectar (leaving the snakes to split their tongues as they licked up the few drops spilt on the grass), Vishnu was so impressed that Garud hadn’t been tempted to consume the ambrosia himself that he immediately hired him as his mount.

Walks from Changu Narayan

You can hike the 10km from Nagarkot to Bhaktapur via Changu Narayan, from where it’s also possible to walk or mountain bike to Sankhu, 5km to the northeast. This trail begins along the dirt road heading northeast from the Changu bus park (take the first fork on the left), though without a guide you may need to ask local help finding the way, and if the temporary bridge is down you’ll have to cross the Manohara River on foot – easy in the dry season, impassable after rain. A short cut leads down directly from the steps descending from the west side of the temple, then heads 1km north across the fields (make for the mobile phone mast) to the Sankhu road, via a footbridge over the river; frequent buses run along this road between Kathmandu and Sankhu.